Coming Home
by RiverFeather6002
Summary: Deciding to surprise her friends by returning a few weeks early, Emma is ready to return to her old life. But are her friends ready to accept her back? And an old friend watches from the shadows...
1. Coming Home

My first Fanfic! Excited!

Hope you enjoy...

* * *

Emma sighed as she looked out of the window of the plane. She could see the big mass of Australia looming in the distance through the clouds and knew it was not long to go until she could see her best friends again. It had been a long year – her mermaid secret had nearly been revealed when her annoying brother Elliot had accidentally knocked over his glass of water and it had spilled all over her lap. Luckily she managed to get to the bathroom cubicle in time, leaving her family bewildered. If only Rikki had been there, and then she could've quickly dried her off with her powers. But no, she wasn't, and it took Emma at least half an hour to completely dry herself and remove her mermaid tail.

But it was all worth it to see her friends again – if only she hadn't had to of gone away in the first place, because apparently it was a stressful year what with the moon pool suddenly attacking them every full moon, and there was a new mermaid in town – Bella, who had all but replaced her in the group. Emma was trying to look at the situation positively but she couldn't see how she surprising everyone by turning up a few weeks early was going to help.

Despite this, she couldn't stop grinning as she got off the plane with her family. It was good to be back.

* * *

Cleo Sertori rushed past _Rikki's _as she made her way to college, hoping not to be late on the first day. Lewis had gotten there at 6 am. _Always the over-achiever_, Cleo had thought when she got his text. Despite her best preparations, she had still managed to somehow be late but was happy because her first class was with Lewis. She hadn't seen him all summer because he had taken an internship at a fancy science lab up Brisbane and had had to stay there most of the time. _So much for spending time together_.

Rikki was just walking out of the café when Cleo raced past her. Not surprised with her best friend's lack of organisation, she cleaned up a few tables and headed back inside. After the summer was over she had decided to resume her job at Rikki's instead of going to college – learning was never much for her anyway. As she walked through the doors Zane came to greet her with a light kiss.

"How's my beautiful today?" he asked.

"Trying to do her job, _today_," Rikki replied. She still hadn't fully forgiven him for what he had done in the past year, but she was letting him make it up to her… slowly.

"Okay, sorry," he said, backing away. "Back on the business side of things, we need new staff now that the café's getting bigger and Sophie's taken off. It was true, she had left suddenly in the middle of the night, leaving a note for her brother Will and taking barely anything. She wrote that she was fed up with him not pursuing what she wanted him to do and had had enough of the entire situation.

"How about Will?" Rikki suggested. "He needs something to take his mind of Sophie just leaving like that – he's been really depressed."

"Sure," Zane said cheerfully. He and Will were now on much better terms then they had been during the year. "I can hold up fort here, so can you go do that right away 'cause we're really desperate."

"Okay and maybe Bella's back from that trip to New Zealand. It feels like I haven't seen her in years!" Rikki took off her apron and left it in Zane's arms as she hurried out the door.

She made it to Will's shack in no time, but there was no one there.

"Hello?" she called through the windows, her eyes meeting nothing but an empty shack.

Down by the water, bubbles began to emerge and two heads surfaced. Rikki turned around and sure enough, there was Bella and Will, just back from a swimming trip. Will was covered head to toe in his diving gear and Rikki could just see Bella's golden mermaid tale under the water.

"Bella!" Rikki exclaimed. "You're back!"

Bella turned to face her. "Yeah, me and Will thought we would go for a short swim before we came to the café."

"Speaking of the café," Rikki began, "Will… I was wondering if you maybe work there for a bit, it's just we're really understaffed and I thought it would help take your mind off recent events…"

"What recent events?" Bella asked, turning her head towards Will.

"Nothing," Will said, "I'll tell you later. Sure, Rikki. I think that some distraction would be great right now."

"Cool," Rikki said. "Hey, I wouldn't mind a swim right now – are you up for it?"

"Oh, definitely," Bella replied excitedly. "We've found this awesome reef that we so want to check out again!" She submerged and Will watched her tail swim off into the distance. Her head surfaced again, just enough time to say, "Last one there is a rotten egg!" before zooming off into the ocean. Rikki dived in after her and followed suit.

"Hey!" Will said, "No fair! We're not all mermaids too!" He took a deep breath and began to follow the girls.

* * *

Will had only been swimming a couple of minutes when he spotted the mermaid tail. _Oh_, he thought, _Bella must have waited behind for me. _He only saw the tail turn behind another bed of coral, and thinking this was a game, he followed it quickly.

After a few more minutes, he finally caught up with the tail, and saw its owner. Bella had her back to him and hadn't noticed him yet, so he swam up behind her, grabbed her by the shoulders, flung her body around, and kissed her full on the mouth. The kiss held for a long time.

It was only then that Will opened his eyes once more and realised the mermaid he had been kissing was not Bella.

He recoiled quickly. This mermaid was new; he had never seen her before. Mixed emotions crossed the mermaid's face as they looked at each other. First surprise, then confusion, then worry, and then anger. She thrust her hand towards Will and he felt his whole body go cold…

* * *

Rikki and Bella were starting to get worried now. They had been at the new reef for over half an hour and they knew that Will was slower than them – but not _this_ slow. They silently agreed to go back and search for him. Bella was just rounding another bend when she saw Will, or at least his body. He was frozen solid. Panicking, Bella looked up and saw coming around the bend another mermaid, a new one. Her worry grew to fear as the new mermaid (who hadn't noticed her) began to drag Will's lifeless body towards the shore of the nearest island – Mako Island. In a bewildered daze, Bella raced to where Rikki was, pulling her to where she had witnessed the mysterious event. As they both turned the corner, they got a short glimpse of the mermaid's face before she shot out of the water.

Rikki's mind erupted in a collision of happiness and fear.

For it was the face of Emma Gilbert.

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Feel free to leave any comments (be them good or bad), I love all feedback.


	2. Old Friends and New Problems

Another chapter up! Note: I DO NOT own H2O: Just Add Water or any of its characters.

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Emma did the best she could to drag the man back up the shore of Mako. What had he been doing, following her like that? She only wished she hadn't rushed to the decision to freeze him with her powers, and now she hoped she could defrost him before anyone noticed he was gone. But what if she had killed him? No, it wasn't a possibility, it _can't_ be a possibility. She had pulled him up so they both lay, immobile on the sandy shores of the large island. She sighed and fell flat on her back, knowing this wasn't the best start to her return.

Suddenly, vast wisps of smoke began rising from underneath her tail, and she felt the water running down her tail begin to dry. In no more than a few seconds she was completely dry and returned to her human form.

Puzzled, Emma stood up and surveyed the beach for the mysterious helper, and as she looked along the shore she found her.

Rikki was dragging her mermaid tail up from the water so she could get a better grip on the sand.

"Rikki!" Emma screamed. "What are you doing here? It's so great to see you!"

"Just give me a minute," Rikki said through gritted teeth as she struggled not to slide back into the water. She held out an upright hand in the direction of her tail and slowly closed it into a fist. Just like with Emma, smoke began to rise from beneath her tail and a moment later she was joining Emma on the beach.

"Hey, Em!" Rikki said excitedly, hugging her best friend frantically. As she hugged Emma she noticed Will's frozen carcass and fear instantly took hold of her.

She pushed Emma out of the way and rushed to Will's side, kneeling down beside him. "What have you done to Will?" she shouted at the now-terrified blonde.

"Oh no, do you know him?" she whispered. "It's just that he saw me as a mermaid and so I froze him without thinking."

"What?"

"It's okay though, right? This happened with Miriam and you guys just defrosted her."

"Yeah, but your powers are much stronger than they were and we don't even have Cleo here!" Rikki muttered frustratingly.

"I can go get her if you like" Bella said, finally emerging from the water.

"So this is Bella, then?" Emma asked stubbornly.

"Yeah, I am. Your not making a great first impression by freezing and kidnapping my boyfriend," Bella replied just as rudely.

"Hey, he kissed me first! I was only defending myself!"

"Wha–"

"ENOUGH!" Rikki screamed, "Will's freezing to death here and you to bickering is not going to solved that."

"Fine," Bella muttered. "I'll go get him."

"No," Emma interrupted, anger clear in her voice. "I haven't seen Cleo in ages, it will be good to catch up." And with that, she furiously dived into the water.

"Who was that? What was her problem?" Bella asked as she dragged herself up the shore.

"I dunno," Rikki replied. "Here, let me help you," and within a few seconds she had dried Bella and returned her to human form.

Bella ran to Will's side, shaking his shoulders.

"Will?" she shouted in his ear, "Will? Can you hear me?"

"I don't think he knows what's going on," Rikki replied sadly. "Let's just hope Emma brings Cleo back quickly."

"Was that Emma? I thought she wasn't due back for a few weeks."

"Me too, I guess she wanted to surprise us."

"I wonder what upset her," Bella said quietly. "I think it was me. I didn't mean to act so rude I was just surprised. And she did kind of freeze my boyfriend."

"She didn't mean to, and I'm sure she'll come to accept a fourth mermaid around here. In no time you'll be the best of friends."

"But you guys had a hard time accepting Charlotte into your group."

"Yeah, but Charlotte was different, she wasn't _you_. Anyway, it was Emma's decision to go travel the world, I'm sure she could've decided otherwise.

"I suppose," Bella said sadly. "But you hardly ever mentioned Emma anyway."

"That's because it was too painful," Rikki said, staring off into the ocean. "I hope Cleo gets here soon, she'll know how to fix things."

"You don't just mean Will, do you?"

* * *

Emma swam faster then she had ever swam in her entire life. _How could they replace me? _she thought sadly. _I thought our friendship would last forever. Apparently not._ She turned up at Cleo's house and asked Kim where he sister could be found.

"Oh, she's at university, you know, with Lewis. Doing all this science stuff. It was funny though, because she was so late this morning!" Kim laughed at her sister's misery and walked off.

_To the university, then,_ Emma thought as she ran off to the bus stop. _So apparently now Cleo's a scientific genius? I wish they would've called me more often, it's as if they've forgotten about me completely._

She reached the university in no time on the bus and checked all of the lecture halls, finding Cleo in the last one she checked.

"Cleo!" she whispered from the door way. "Cleo!"

Cleo, who was sitting at the back of the class, only just noticed the whisper and excused herself from the lecture. As she walked out of the room a grin spread across her face.

"Emma!" she said almost silently. "How are you?"

"Fine," Emma replied, returning the hug Cleo offered. "But Will's not" She stared down at the ground. "I may have frozen him when he saw me swimming to Mako. I'm sorry! I was just keeping our secret I didn't know he already knew!"

"Oh gosh, and so much for me and Lewis spending time together on the first day. Okay, I'll grab my things and meet you out front." She then hurried back into the class and grabbed her stuff as Emma dashed down the hallway.

As they hurried back to the docks Emma noticed the crystal around Cleo's neck.

"Hey!" she said. "Where's the locket I found for you?" She fingered the silver locket still around her neck. "I still wear mine."

"Oh, these were made for us from the rock found in the moon pool. Have you been there yet? A lot has changed."

_Another reason why I don't belong here_, Emma thought sadly. It seemed as though all her friends had forgotten about her.

Cleo stopped in her tracks. "Wait! Last time with Miriam we needed that thermometer to keep track of her temperature! Could you please go find one, Emma?"

Emma sighed. "Yeah, sure."

"Thanks. I'll see you at Mako!"

_They probably just don't want me there_, Emma thought as she dashed back to her home. People had been renting it for the year she and her family were off travelling, but now they had moved out and Emma's family was moving back in. As she came around the corner of her street Emma saw the truck carrying all her family's furniture from storage back to her house. When she arrived home, she was happy to find all the bathroom supplies had already been brought over. She entered the bathroom and grabbed a thermometer from inside the medicine cabinet, running across the tiled floor to get back through the door. As she crossed the back garden to the river, she slipped on a large patch of water and fell with a massive SPLASH! into the pool. She tried to get out of the water – but it was too late, a shimmering light, and a golden mermaid tail appeared where her legs were just a few seconds before. Emma glanced around her, making sure that no one saw, but she could only see the back of a removal woman's head, with deep red hair. The removal woman had not turned around when Emma fell in the pool and was now exiting through the back gate – Emma didn't even see her face. With the threat of exposure put at ease, Emma moved on to the more important task – getting herself dry, in a pool. _I have to be more careful when it comes to water, _she told herself sternly.

* * *

Cleo swam to Mako Island very quickly, eager to see Will and talk with Rikki and Bella about Emma's surprisingly early arrival. After a quick dry from Rikki, she joined the other two on the sand, kneeling down beside Will's body. Some of the icy glare had worn off his body, and the sand around him had gone a darker sort of brown with all the water leaking into it. The parts with no ice on them had begun to turn darker shades of red, which was not a good sign.

"How is he?" she asked Rikki, who had already begun the drying process.

"He's drying well, which is a good sign," she started, but worry leaked into her voice. "But I haven't had to have this much restraint over my powers in a long time. I'm afraid I might heat him up too much."

"Well, that's what Emma's for when she gets here. I've just sent her to go get a thermometer to monitor Will's temperature."

"You let her go out in the streets alone?" Bella remarked. "Aren't you scared she might freeze someone else?" It was meant to be a joke and Bella laughed, but neither of the other two did.

"Oh no," Rikki muttered. "I can't do this, he's heating up too quickly. I'll boil him alive if Em doesn't get here soon." She took away one of the two hands se had over his body, hoping that she wouldn't overheat him.

"Just keep going, you're doing fine," Bella said, desperate to have Will alive and in her arms again.

Cleo looked out over the ocean worriedly. "Hurry up, Em!" she said.

* * *

The removal woman left through the back gate, throwing the box she was carrying to the ground. She went to the back of the removal van, opening the boot, revealing the unconscious, shirtless removal man inside.

Charlotte Watsford took off the cap and shirt she had stolen from the man and threw them over his sleeping body. She closed the boot and started to walk away from the Gilbert residence, an evil grin from ear to ear.

_Good luck saving your toy boy now without Emma, you filthy fish, _she thought as she got into her car on the other side of the road and drove off, her brilliant red hair flying out of the window.

* * *

Hope you liked the surprise at the end! I might do the next chapter in Will's point of view leading up to when he is frozen, because it's vital for an important part of the story I'm planning.

Rate and review! :)


	3. Will's Point of View

Hey! I'm so addicted to this writing, I should be studying for my exams! :P

Here's just a little part in Will's Point of View from the start of the day to when he is frozen by Emma. Enjoy!

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I woke up this morning with a plan in my head; get up, have a shower, have breakfast, then go out for a morning swim. But now I'm just standing here in the shower, letting the water beat hard against my back, wondering if I should do any of it. I just want to lie on the couch and dream, dream that she was back here and that I didn't have to worry about what was happening to her every second of every day. I can't help but worry, I mean, she's my sister, what else can I do? And I know she's been really crap at her sister job lately, but that doesn't mean I love her any less. How could she just leave? Get up, and leave in the middle of the night leaving a scrawny little note not even apologising to me? I wish Bella was here, she would know exactly how to cheer me up.

I get out of the shower and dry myself off. While I'm brushing my teeth I hear the hesitant creaking sound of my front door being opened. I throw the toothbrush in the sink and run out into the hallway, still in my boxers and wiping the foam from my mouth.

"Hello?" I call throughout the house. I can hear my voice echoing around the house, flying down the hallway and hitting me again. And something else hits me as well.

I feel a hand slide tenderly up my back and am greeted by a husky voice; "Hello, handsome."

I turn around only to be greeted by a kiss from none other than Bella. Forgetting all other things, I lose myself in my love for her and slip my hands down so they rest tightly around her waist, pulling her closer to me.

"Hi yourself," I say back once we part.

"I decided to come home early, I miss you too much," she whispers. Her voice just makes me want to kiss her more. And then suddenly her words remind me of Sophie, and how much I miss her. I slowly pull away.

"What's wrong?" she asks, much louder this time.

"Nothing, I just haven't been sleeping well."

"Poor baby," she says, hooking her arm around my waist and leading me out side the house. "How about a swim? I haven't been in the water for ages."

"Sure," I say casually, and watch her dive in. In a flash of shimmering light a tail appears underneath the water where her legs would normally be.

"You coming?" she asks, resurfacing.

"Yeah, I just need to get my gear on." I walk back inside the house and quickly put my wetsuit on and grab my flippers. I pause and take a moment to look at a picture of Sophie on the coffee table, instantly saddened by the thought of her. Shaking the thoughts off my mind, I head outside, surprised to see that Bella's already left without me. I hear a buzz on the ground and look down to see Bella's phone. She must've dropped it when she dived into the water. The screen flashes with the words; _One New Message: from Liam_. My mind instantly goes berserk with the thoughts of whoever this Liam person is. I tell myself that I'm just being paranoid, but as I dive in the water after Bella I can't help feel that those thoughts are still nagging me at the back of my brain.

* * *

Swimming with Bella is great; I like how I can swim with her as an equal and enjoy myself – not worry about drowning or Sophie or whoever 'Liam' is, that I can just relax. When we arrive back at my house another surprise waits for us – Rikki. She offers me a job at her café and I accept. It would be nice to take my mind off 'recent events' as she puts it. When Bella asks what these events were, I'm a little colder than usual, but I don't mean to be. This whole 'Liam' thing has me on edge. Bella mentions a reef we found out in the sea and suddenly we're back swimming again – or I am alone, because the other two have raced off without me. This time I take my time, relaxing and enjoying the ocean around me. Who cares if they get worried? I can take as long as I want. Oh no, this whole thing with the phone has completely changed me into a different person. I mean, it's just a text. I'm sure Liam is just a friend she met in New Zealand. Or is he?

These thoughts are wiped from my mind when I see a mermaid tale turn the corner around a bed of coral. Bella must be playing games again. Well, she'll have to swim a little faster then that to escape me. I kick my flippers really hard and zoom off after her. I round yet another coral bend and finally catch sight of her – but she's got her back to me. I swim slowly up towards her, thinking I might catch her by surprise like she did to me this morning. I get closer, and closer.

Now! I spin her shoulder's around, closing my eyes and kissing her, pulling her so close to me that we couldn't be any closer. I let go after a long time and am shocked to find that the face I'm kissing wasn't Bella's, or Rikki's, or Cleo's. I stare into the face of this new mermaid with a puzzled expression painted across mine. She's beautiful. It's like that kiss changed my life. It's as though my thoughts are literally running around my head, giving me a major headache. All I know is that I want to kiss her again. I watch the different expressions on the mermaid's face. I attempt to put my hands up to signal to her that I mean no harm, but she thrusts her hand towards me and… and… darkness.

* * *

Tell me what you think!

Will have the next chapter up soon!


	4. Hot and Cold

Enjoy!

* * *

Emma struggled to pull herself up and out of the pool. Carefulness was one of her best attributes, yet she had let herself foolishly fall into the water like that, not to mention that Will was in desperate need of all their help. As she clung to the smooth tiles, she felt a deep sense of unease. That red-headed removal woman who had just walked through the back gate the instant she had transformed seemed awfully familiar... She shook the thoughts off and focused at the task at hand.

Finally, she chucked the thermometer across the tiles in front of her and managed to get a good enough hold on the tiles with both her hands free to pull herself out of the water. But next came the weird part.

She slid along the tiles, picking the thermometer up as she went. She left a curious trail of water and constantly looked around to make sure no one saw her, until she reached the grassy hill that separated her house from the canal that ran down into the ocean. Folding her hands down to her sides, she pointed her head forward and shot down the hill, splashing into the ocean with a loud crash. It was ice-cold, but she didn't care. She surfaced to make sure no one had seen, and quickly dived into the water, thermometer still in her hand.

Rikki couldn't stop heating Will, but was scared he would die if Emma didn't get there soon. Bella had ripped open his wet suit so he wouldn't heat up as quick, and Rikki could see large red patches blotched across his bare chest in various places.

A stream of water out in the ocean caught her, Bella and Cleo's attention.

"It must be Emma!" Cleo cried out in relief. And she was right, Emma surfaced quickly and Rikki used her spare hand to dry her. But due to her taking her concentration of Will, she felt him heating up to fast.

"Emma! What took you so long? We need help cooling Will down" she said loudly, frustration travelling through the air with the sound of her voice. Emma shot her hand out, making a small gesture compared to her usual one. The red patches across Will's chest disappeared instantly.

"Good," Rikki said quieter. "Can you start to even out his temperature? Cleo, you need to start getting his blood and other stuff moving again. We can't be too late."

Emma and Cleo both closed in on his body, almost blocking Will from Bella's sight.

"Need me to do anything guys?" she asked warily.

"No, it's okay," Cleo said, turning to her. "I'm sure you're in shock, anyway." She turned back to Will's body, stretching out her hand to his head and curling her fingers.

"_Yuck_," she muttered. She could feel him beginning to come to life beneath her hands. Meanwhile, Emma and Rikki were pushing just enough energy into him to keep his temperature normal.

"Here," Emma said, throwing the thermometer to Bella with her spare hand. "You actually can do something, check his temperature. If this is like Miriam, he should be waking up now."

Bella smiled, grateful to not be feeling left out anymore. _This must've been what it was like before Emma left and I moved here,_ she thought as she knelt beside her boyfriend. She looked down at the thermometer, her face showing the surprise her mind was feeling.

"Guys," she said. "Guys he's getting really cold..."

"Emma, how long has it been since you've used your powers?" Rikki asked furiously.

"Oh..." she muttered, glancing down. "About five months," she said, but almost no noise came out.

"What was that?" Rikki asked, her eyes glaring at Emma.

"ABOUT FIVE MONTHS," Emma shouted across Will's body.

"Five months?" Rikki gasped, snatching her friend's hand away from Will's body in an instant. "No wonder he's freezing again, you've barely used your powers since we've seen you last!"

"I thought I would stay under the radar while travelling..." Emma whispered, pushing herself away from Will's body.

"Oh don't start sulking n–"

"No," Bella whispered, interrupting Rikki and clutching the thermometer to her heart.

"What is it Bella?" Cleo asked, taking her hand away from Will's head and looking up.

"The thermometer," Bella gasped. "It's reading no temperature in his body."

Rikki turned a shocked face towards Emma, who was still shuffling further back, chin resting against her chest as she stared down at the sandy shore. "Look what you've done! If you hadn't distracted me in the first place none of this would've ever happened!" She raised her hand towards Will's body once more, desperately wishing that this last hope would work. She curled her fingers into a fist and instantly took her hand away, a snap heating.

Bella stuffed the thermometer in Will's mouth again, searching the small screen for signs. A thousand thoughts rushed through her mind at once.

Will's body jolted upwards and his eyes snapped open, he was a little warmer then he was used to, but everything seemed to be working fine. He stood up, swaying slightly. The sun was just beginning to set and as he looked around the beach her noticed the mermaid that had attacked him. His whole body stiffened and he fell over, almost on top of Rikki.

"Will!" Bella screamed, breaking out of her shocked state and crawling over to where he boyfriend lay slightly dazed. She took his head in her hands.

"Your back," she whispered, stroking his hair softly. Rikki and Cleo crowded around him as well, but Emma stayed firmly back.

"How long was I gone?" he asked, smiling up at Bella. She smiled back and hugged him tightly, forever remembering the moment.

Rikki turned her head to look at Emma, but she wasn't there. Rikki watched a trail of bubbles quickly glide away from the beach, and then disappear where the entrance to the moon pool was. Good riddance, she thought stubbornly. Nothing good had happened since the moment Emma touched down in her plane – and Rikki supposed she would want her old job back as well. Well, she was going to have to fight for it, that was for sure.

* * *

**Emma's Point of View**

"No wonder he's freezing again, you've barely used your powers since we've seen you last!" Rikki screams at me. How does she have the right to say something like that? It's not like she didn't nearly boil Will alive before I arrived.

I decide the sad approach would be better, and whisper back something like "I thought I would stay under the radar while travelling..."

I slowly drag myself across the sand, making a trail as I do so. Rikki begins to go off at me, but then Bella stops us with the news that Will's apparently dead. Oh, yeah, and that's my entire fault too, according to Rikki. She tries to snap heat him and it works, suddenly he's alive and sitting up. Big deal, it's not like he was really dead anyway. Once he catches sight of me he practically falls over in fear, which makes me feeling even worse. I shouldn't really be thinking like this, it was my fault, but Rikki's being unfairly mean. Did I expect much else? No, I suppose not. Maybe she likes Bella more than me, and that's understandable, but she couldn't just forget me, could she? Perhaps people can change more in a short time than I thought.

With all these thoughts rushing through my head I slide silently into the water, racing off to the moon pool. A nice bathe there will fix all my problems...

I race under the water but stop instantly, there are rocks nearly covering the hole, and I have to squeeze through a gap at the top to get through. When I surface in the jade pool, a big surprise waits for me. A big chunk of the crater has been destroyed. I pull myself up so I am leaning on the familiar stone steps that lead out of the pool. I lie, tail in the water, eyes looking up through the crater at the crimson sky above. It looked like tonight would be a full moon...

* * *

**Normal Story**

Will was sitting against a tree, eyes only half-open and glancing constantly around. Bella sat next to him, leaning over so her head was in his lap, he softly stroked her hair. It was only the recent events that forbid her from falling into a deep sleep. Cleo had taken off, rushing to see Lewis and copy all his notes from their lectures. Fury and rage were slowly building up inside Rikki's chest, just waiting for the right moment to explode out of her chest. She stood up suddenly and dived into the deep blue water, not saying a single word to Bella or Will. She and Emma had some talking to do...

* * *

Okay, good. I have an idea planned for the next chapter and I don't know if I can wait until to tomorrow to write it so stay tuned!

Please read and review!


	5. Mermaid Victory

After finishing off the last chapter I had to write this one just because it was ll in my head and I didn't want to lose any of it!

Enjoy!

* * *

Rikki passed through the small hole in the rocky entrance to the moon pool and surfaced quickly, shocking Emma, who was cradled in a ball surrounded by the remaining debris of the pool's destruction.

"What was that?" Rikki asked angrily. "You could've cost Will his life!"

"I'm sorry!" Emma gasped, lifting her head from her hands and revealing the tears pouring down her cheeks. They glistened like diamonds in the moon pools reflection. It was practically pitch black now, and the only thing illuminating the cave was the bright colours emanating from the pool.

"Sorry's not good enough," Rikki muttered as she pulled herself out of the pool and quickly dried her tail.

"Do you hate me?" Emma said quietly.

"Of course I don't!" Rikki shouted back at her. "I'm just pissed off by this whole situation! Why could you not wait for a few more weeks? Then maybe none of this would've happened!"

"I'm sorry."

"You left us! You left us on the eve of the year when we needed you most! How can I forgive you for that?" Rikki poured her heart and her rage into the words she shouted at her friend. Tears flooded from her eyes too.

"I needed time to thin–" Emma began, but was interrupted by a stirring beneath the moon pool. White light illuminated the entire cave to the tightest corners as the moon gliding over the mouth of the volcano, making both Rikki and Emma shield their eyes from the glare, and also from the moon's reflection in the pool. It seemed like this full moon was stronger than the normal ones. Despite not being able to see anything, Emma could hear the pop of bubbles as they rose out of the moon pool, spilling magical energy with each one. She peeked through a crack in her arm at Rikki, who was staring directly at the dark wall and obviously refusing to look at either her or the pool. And then suddenly, a noise...

Footsteps quickly made their way towards Emma, and she could hear a cold voice ring out; "I've waited a long time for this." Emma turned to see Charlotte running from the shadows towards her, an evil grin painted on her face and a glint in her eye that was nothing but trouble. Charlotte reached out her hands in an attempt to push Emma into the moon pool, but Rikki, only just noticing her old enemy, was too quick. She dived in front of Emma, taking Charlotte's blow and was subsequently pushed backwards into the moon pool.

"No!"Emma screamed, and lurched forward with her fists ready, attempting to restrain Charlotte, but the former mermaid was bigger than her and easily threw her to the ground, knocking the wind out of her and sending her consciousness flying.

Rikki tried to grab at Charlotte as she stood on the edge of the pool, but found her mermaid tail restricting her to the middle, where the bubbles were greater in number. Charlotte gracefully stepped into the moon pool, soaking her clothes to the core. She didn't care; she was finally getting what she wanted – again. She swam opposite Rikki in the pool, who found herself slowly being stuck to a single spot. Charlotte was too, but this was the part she wanted, so she didn't struggle as much as Rikki did. The bubbles were rising quicker now, filling the entire moon pool like they had never done before, and they levitated – high into the air towards the moon. Rikki watched them, still trying to pull free of the magical hold the pool had on her. She watched as Charlotte began to smile, a large, toothy smile that confirmed that the redhead was up to no good once more.

Another familiar face climbed through the small entryway into the main cave. This woman was redhead too, but her hair was shorter and stuck out weirdly. She dragged Emma's body to the moon pool, pushing it in and revealing her face to Rikki.

"Rikki," Charlotte began, "I would like you to meet my associate. Sophie Benjamin. We met down the coast as I was planning my little heist. She kindly offered to help." She grinned even more, if that were possible. "I believe the two of you have met?"

"Well, well, well..." Sophie sniggered. "I guess you three did have a big secret after all."

She jumped in after Emma, who woke up as she splashed in the pool.

"What? Charlotte! No..." Emma felt herself being dragged to the middle of the moon pool, and writhed her mermaid tail this way and that to get free, but to no avail.

"Just don't fight it, Em!" Rikki yelled, desperate for a way out of their situation.

Suddenly, as Sophie joined the now circle of them opposite Emma, Rikki felt a strange sensation in her stomach – a feeling she hadn't felt since...

"No!" she gasped. "No, Charlotte you can't do this!" She felt the feeling she had when being transformed into a human once more two years ago, that wasn't permanent, but from the look on Charlotte and Sophie's faces, Rikki could tell this transformation would be...

A pink light emerged from the moon pool in the middle of the circle they had formed, blinding them all for an instant and allowing the change to take place.

Emma felt the familiar weight of her tail lift, and felt her normal human legs drift through the water. She gasped loudly at the sight that was now in front of her. Sophie and Charlotte were both mermaids with golden tails, and Rikki and she were not.

"Okay," Charlotte said, and raised her hand. "I'll give you two a ten second head start before I boil your blood or Sophie freezes you like an ice block, starting in three, two, one... go!"

Both Rikki and Emma dived underneath the water, desperate to get away from Charlotte and Sophie and figure this whole mess out. Rikki could feel her lungs begin to tire as she squeezed through the small hole, and only had time to see Emma put her hands around her waist and haul her to the surface before she blacked out.

"HELP!" Emma called out into the vast expanse of the deep ocean. "HELP! Please help us..." She lost all hope when she felt the boom that shook even the sea, and looked down through the clear waters. Charlotte and Sophie stood at the now cleared entrance to the moon pool, hands raised, smiling up at the helpless Emma. Bits of debris floated up and surrounded her, while she desperately attempted to swim while still carrying Rikki.

"Help!" she screamed once more, before she felt two pairs of hands grab her legs and pull her into the depths...

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Bella and Will were getting ready to head back to the city when they heard Emma's desperate cries for help. They both reacted almost instantly, gathering everything and diving into the sea. Underneath the water they silently agreed that the pleas must've been coming from the moon pool, and they swam as fast as they could there.

They saw Emma, desperately trying to swim anywhere but the entrance to the moon pool, her bleak skin highlighted against the dark night. Her mind as well as her body had gone bright white and cold with the sensation of a near-death experience.

Will and Bella swam underneath Emma, and dragged her behind a bed of coral, to escape the quickly advancing mermaids. Shocked expressions crossed their faces almost simultaneously as they glimpsed the faces of these new mermaids, and Bella had to stop Will from reaching out to Sophie. They pulled Emma further behind the bed, and then once Charlotte and Sophie had disappeared, they shot up into the open air. Bella noiselessly signalled that she was going to follow the two rampaging mermaids, and Will dragged Emma and Rikki back to Mako. Emma eyes faltered as she tried to help Will by kicking her legs and propelling them forward, but she felt tired and eventually settled to resting in Will's arms. He looked down at her and smiled for some reason. Why was he being so friendly to this girl? Had she not nearly killed him? He didn't know why but he had felt a connection there ever since their lips had met. He dragged the two of them onto the sandy shores, where Emma snapped back to life and Rikki slowly awoke from her slumber.

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Bella raced after Sophie and Charlotte at high speed, but also being careful that she wasn't noticed. She had traced them around Mako Island nearly twice, and they had not stopped. When she knew she was nearing where Will probably would've taken Emma and Rikki, she slowed down and prepared to swim to shore.

Suddenly, she felt a spine-tingling feeling race all throughout her body, and turned, staring directly into Charlotte's chaotic face.

Charlotte raised her hand, but Bella was too quick, reaching out her own and turning the water around the mermaid's hand to jelly, she retracted and pushed out her hand once more, and it turned to hard crystal. Furious, Charlotte attempted to swipe her hardened fist at Bella's head, missing in her clumsiness. Bella shot off in the direction behind Charlotte, hoping to divert the attention from Will and the others.

She glanced behind herself into the dark waters as she went, noting that Sophie had taken up the chase as well. She swam on, wishing for a solution to this mess to appear soon.

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So that's it! Don't worry I do have a solution and it's going to unfold over the next few chapters. Please rate and review!


	6. Only Two More Left

**Hey! This is short, but it's just a little bit so you guys didn't think I something had happened or anything. Just really REALLY hard exams - and studying, and apparently I have to help tutor this person I barely know etc. So hard! Sorry about not updating sooner, and I'm working on some stuff which will hopefully turn into a longer chapter over the next few weeks. Will try to write more ASAP. Enjoy this, though!**

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Bella's tail swiftly propelled her through the water as she raced away from Charlotte, who was slowly getting closer... The redhead held her hand up, turning the water in the distance between her and Bella into a massive ice spear, which she propelled at the fleeing mermaid. Sophie was having a hard time keeping up – this mermaid thing was a hard job, all she had wanted was some sweet revenge on those annoying girls. But who knew they were mermaids? And now she was one too, was that a good thing or a bad thing?

Bella curved body around the incoming missile, and it glided over her golden fin almost gracefully. As she neared the shore she began to see things she recognised; and remembered there was a small alcove in a rock to her right. Ducking into it, she hid herself, watching as Charlotte swam past quickly, followed by a slower Sophie. Bella pulled herself out of her hiding place, watching the mermaids swim off into the distance.

Rikki spat some more water from her mouth.

"We have... to get to Bella..." she muttered, attempting to push herself into a standing position but finding her arms to weak to even support her sitting up.

"Just lie back down," Emma said, pushing her friend back into the sand. "You were unconscious for a long time."

"Where's... Will?" Rikki asked, coughing deeply into her hand.

"I don't know," Emma replied, looking down at the sand. "As soon as I regained came around he took off into the ocean – I expect he's going to help Bella."

Rikki suddenly propped herself up, full strength returning to her arms at the mention of her friend in need. "We need to go help her too! Why are we just sitting here?"

"Don't you remember?" Emma asked, rolling her eyes, and crawling over to the sea which gently lapped the soft sand. She took a handful of the pale blue liquid, splashing some at Rikki. Both of them waited for ten seconds, hopes high. Nothing happened. "We're normal again... just normal. It's funny; I don't actually feel any different."

"So we're stuck here," Rikki said angrily, "on this island in the middle of the sea near bouts."

"Don't worry," Emma said hopefully. "They will remember us... I hope."

Bella swam to the shore, pulling herself upwards onto the hard sand. She waited for herself to dry before heading to Cleo's house. It was the middle of the night, and Will, Rikki and Emma were stranded on Mako. With two berserk mermaids on the loose, Cleo was the only person she could turn to.

She headed down the alleyway that she knew led to Cleo's street. About half way down, she stopped, listening to the faint wind, and another noise – something was approaching her, fast. She turned to run and collided head-first with Will's chest. He managed to catch her before she fell.

"Hey!" he whispered. "Sorry about startling you, I just needed to know you were alright."

Bella's eyes came back into focus, and she looked at Will in horror. "You LEFT Rikki and Emma, completely alone, with no powers or no quick escape into the ocean. Come on, Will!"

"I just needed to make sure you're okay, and then I would go back and get them."

"Well, go! There are two mermaids planning who knows what, lurking about the city hunting me – and probably Cleo too!"

"Sorry," Will muttered. "Oh, and here's your phone back, you dropped it," he said, handing her the device before turning in the direction of his house, and disappearing into the darkness.

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**Bella's Point of View**

Will falls back into the darkness, leaving me alone again. I shouldn't be so harsh on him, I know, but everything that has been happening lately has me on edge. Maybe I should tell him about Liam, but there isn't really much to tell. I look down at my phone, checking my messages; my parents must be going crazy. There's a read message from Liam – and I got it at 11:00pm, wait, no, I was already swimming by then... Will must've read it! Damn! That can't be good. I decide that I have to focus on the problem at hand, that there are only two real mermaids left - I don't count Charlotte and Sophie, because they only stole a mermaid's power, they didn't earn it for themselves. I'm just leaving the alleyway and turning into Cleo's street when my mind is wiped completely blank and fear begins to course through my veins; as I see a dark shadow make its way towards Cleo's house

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**Please review!**


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